Duff Goldman: 'I Really Didn’t Expect Any of This'

The 'Ace of Cakes' pastry chef will be baking a wedding cake for a couple denied for being gay

Duff Goldman

After pastry chef Duff Goldman, the man behind Baltimore’s Charm City Cakes and Food Network’s Ace of Cakes, learned that Aaron Klein, the owner of Gresham, Ore.’s Sweet Cakes by Melissa, had refused to make a wedding cake for a couple because they were same-sex, he knew he had to step in. He tweeted at the couple that he’d "make that cake for free," and hoped that he’d hear from them, but never thought that he would end up becoming the latest voice in the ongoing marriage equality debate.

"I never expected any of this," Goldman told The Daily Meal. "I just wanted to give them a call, but it’s great that it blew up."

Goldman has been making wedding cakes for same-sex couples for many years, and was glad to learn over the weekend that the couple had decided to take him up on his offer.

"People can believe whatever they want, but to actively and outwardly take public action because you don’t agree with someone, it’s just shocking," he said.

Klein told NBC News that the reason he didn’t cater to the couple was because he would rather have his children "see their dad stand up for what he believes in then to see him bow down because one person complained," and while Goldman could understand his point of view, he still has major issues with it.

"I can understand that he has a view, and that’s great to have convictions, but there’s probably a way that you can pass on your beliefs in a positive way," he said.

Goldman has taken a philosophical approach to the issue, and sees the parallels between this and other civil rights issues of the past.

"As I listen to their reasons, I realize that it’s the same argument as when we had segregation, and when people refused to hire the Irish. It’s the same thing people said to my grandparents back in Russia," he said. "Now we can look back and realize how shocking and revolting it was at the time. I just hope that people feel the same way about same-sex marriage in the future."

Dan Myers is the Eat/Dine Editor at The Daily Meal. Follow him on Twitter @sirmyers.